Saints' Vilma suspended one year for role in bounty program

The NFL issued long-anticipated penalties to current and former Saints players for their participation in the team's pay-for-pain bounty program Wednesday.

New Orleans MLB Jonathan Vilma, who put a $10,000 price on the heads of Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and Vikings QB Brett Favre in the 2009 playoffs, has been suspended for the entire 2012 season, effective immediately. He is eligible for reinstatement following Super Bowl XLVII next February.

Saints DE Will Smith will miss four games. Two ex-Saints were also disciplined with Browns OLB Scott Fujita receiving a three-game ban while Packers DE Anthony Hargrove is out for eight games.

Per the NFL's official findings, the quartet was "suspended without pay for conduct detrimental to the NFL as a result of their leadership roles in the New Orleans Saints' pay-for-performance/bounty program that endangered player safety over three seasons from 2009-2011. Participation by players in any such program is prohibited by the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, the standard NFL Player Contract, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that the players' actions were inexcusable whether or not they were following the instructions of disgraced former Saints DC Gregg Williams, who was suspended indefinitely in March as the architect of a program that was in place from 2009-11. The league specified today that the players "of their own accord pledged significant amounts of their own money toward bounties ... and that the payout amounts doubled and tripled for playoff games."

"It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to ensure that rules designed to promote player safety, fair play, and the integrity of the game are adhered to and effectively and consistently enforced," said Goodell in a statement today. "Respect for the men that play the game starts with the way players conduct themselves with each other on the field."

Vilma released the following statement through a lawyer:

"I am shocked and extremely disappointed by the NFL's decision to suspend me for the 2012 season. Commissioner Roger Goodell has refused to share any of the supposed evidence he claims supports this unprecedented punishment. The reason is clear: I never paid , or intended to pay, $10,000, or any amount of money, to any player for knocking Kurt Warner, Brett Favre or any other player, out of the 2009 divisional playoff game, 2010 NFC Championship Game, or any other game. I never set out to intentionally hurt any player and never enticed any teammate to intentionally hurt another player. I also never put any into a bounty pool or helped to create a bounty pool intended to pay out money for injuring other players. I have always conducted myself in a professional and proud manner. I intend to fight this injustice, to defend my reputation, to stand up for my team and my profession, and to send a clear signal to the commissioner that the process has failed, to the detriment of me, my teammates, the New Orleans Saints and the game."

Fujita, Hargrove and Smith's suspensions take effect following the preseason. Fujita played in New Orleans from 2006-09 while Hargrove was there in 2009 and 2010.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith is sure to be heavily involved in that process. He issued a statement today that reads:

"After seeing the NFL's decision letters, the NFLPA has still not received any detailed or specific evidence from the league of these specific players' involvement in an alleged pay-to-injure program. We have made it clear that punishment without evidence is not fair. We have spoken with our players and their representatives and we will vigorously protect and pursue all options on their behalf."

The league consulted the union prior to today's announcement, though frustration has been expressed by NFL counsel Jeff Pash that the NFLPA was more concerned about protecting the Saints than the players they targeted.

Goodell would hear the expected appeals. He did not reduce the suspensions of Saints head coach Sean Payton (2012 season), GM Mickey Loomis (8 games) and interim/assistant coach Joe Vitt (6 games) for their roles and cover-up of the program upon appeal last month. Goodell initially issued those penalties (and that of Williams, who did not appeal) on March 21.

Prior to today, Vilma had not said anything publicly since the bounty scandal came to light but didn't seem to show much remorse on his Twitter feed, which displays an avatar of Vilma on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline "Bounty Culture."

He did respond to one of his followers regarding his display earlier Wednesday:

"@ThePack_Man: Y would @JonVilma51 use the #SI cover of the bounty scandle?"bc Jon Vilma can."

Vilma, who recently restructured his deal, is under contract through 2013. However Loomis had done some contingency planning in free agency, signing highly regarded former Falcons MLB Curtis Lofton to a five-year pact. LBs David Hawthorne and Chris Chamberlain also received multi-year deals to join a revamped linebacking corps.

The league spelled out the specific findings against each players in its investigation:

Fujita: "The record established that Fujita ... pledged a significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty pool during the 2009 NFL Playoffs when he played for the Saints. The pool to which he pledged paid large cash rewards for 'cart-offs' and 'knockouts,' plays during which an opposing player was injured."

Hargrove "submitted a signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it. The evidence showed that Hargrove told at least one player on another team that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was a target of a large bounty during the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010. Hargrove also actively obstructed the league's 2010 investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators."

Smith "assisted Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in establishing and funding the program during a period in which he was a captain and leader of the defensive unit."

In addition to his personal bounties, Vilma was also cited for helping Williams fund and run the program.

Though the NFL revealed in March that 22-27 players participated in the program, Goodell opted to focus punishment on those "who had a higher degree of responsibility and whose conduct warranted special attention."

Said Goodell: "I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.

"No bounty program can exist without active player participation. ... The evidence clearly showed that the players being held accountable today willingly and enthusiastically embraced the bounty program. Players put the vast majority of the money into this program and they share responsibility for playing by the rules and protecting each other within those rules."

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines.

About Nate Davis

Nate Davis is a reporter, blogger and editor who's been at USA TODAY since 2000. He has covered the NFL since 2005. No, he did not play quarterback for Ball State. Davis' succession of our esteemed colleague Sean Leahy at The Huddle is considered a Brady-for-Bledsoe swap by most "insiders."More about Nate